Queen Mary's Hospital Bereavement Booklet

St George’s University Hospitals

NHS Foundation Trust

A

practical guide for when someone dies in Queen Mary’s Hospital

We would like to express our sincere condolences to you at this very difficult time. This booklet contains details about what needs to be done after the death of your relative or friend. We hope it will help you to manage some of the practical aspects, such as registration and funeral arrangements.

At the end of this booklet is a list of other organisations that can provide you with help and support.

As soon as you feel able, please contact the ward for advice and guidance on the processes you need to follow in order to register your loved one’s death.

You will need confirmation that the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) has been written and sent electronically to Wandsworth Register Office. The ward team will be able to advise when this has been completed.

We politely ask that you phone the ward and speak to staff before visiting the hospital to collect any property.

Mary Seacole Ward:

020 8587 6133

020 8487 6543

020 8487 6544

Gwynne Holford Ward:

020 8487 6127

For general advice on bereavement processes please contact the Bereavement Services team, based at St George’s Hospital. Staff are available from 09:00 to 16:00 Monday to Friday on the numbers below, or you can email us.

Bereavement.Service@stgeorges.nhs.uk

020 8725 3410

020 8725 3411

Viewing Arrangements

Viewing is only available at a funeral directors.

It is the hospital’s policy that the deceased will be taken to the Chapel of Rest at a local funeral directors, Mears & Cotterill. There is no obligation to choose this funeral director to conduct the funeral. However it should be noted that if you choose another company you may be charged a fee by Mears & Cotterill for providing temporary care of the deceased.

If the deceased is scheduled to have a Coroner’s post-mortem, you must call the Coroner’s Office to make an appointment for you. Contact details can be found on page 6 of this booklet.

The Medical Certificate Of Cause Of Death

A Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is needed to register the death of your relative or friend. This is a legal document which must be completed by a doctor who treated the patient and knows the cause of death. This can mean that sometimes there is a wait for the certificate, for example if the doctor is not on duty.

In some situations, it is necessary for the doctor to make a referral to the coroner before the MCCD can be issued. This is explained in more detail on page 4. In this situation there may be a delay but we will do our best to keep you fully informed.

The ward team will work with doctors, and coroners’ officers if necessary, to ensure the certificate is completed accurately and in a timely manner. We will contact you when the certificate is ready and advise you of next steps.

Medical Examiners

The role of the Medical Examiner has been introduced nationally. The Medical Examiner is a senior doctor who was not involved in the care of your loved one. The Medical Examiner reviews the medical records and understands the circumstances around the cause of death. They also talk to the clinical team that looked after your loved one. The aim of the Medical Examiner service is to support you with clinical information that will make it easier for you to understand the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. They will also try to answer any questions that you may have about your loved one’s care, or to direct you to the people that will be best able to help you.

A member of the Medical Examiner service will try to contact you once the cause of death has been discussed with the clinical team and the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death has been proposed.

Referral To The Coroner

In some situations it is necessary to refer a death to the Coroner; this may be because the clinical team are not able to say why the patient died or if the death was unnatural.

The Coroner’s Office will consider all the information provided by the referring doctor and there are several possible outcomes:

• A hospital doctor may be permitted to issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death

• The GP or another doctor known to the deceased may be asked to issue the certificate

• The Coroner may decide that further investigation is required to establish the cause of death and they will take responsibility for processes going forwards.

If the hospital doctor is permitted to issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death the Coroner will require a copy of the certificate as completed by the doctor. The Coroner will issue a document to support the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, called a Form 100A. The Coroner’s Office must send the Form 100A to the Register Office to allow the registration of death to take place. In addition to the Coroner’s Office keeping you informed, the ward will also notify you of progress and let you know when the certificate has been sent to the Registrar.

Coroner’s Post-Mortem

The Coroner may decide a post-mortem is needed to find out the cause of death. Consent is not required from the next of kin for this examination.

The Coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examination and no further examinations are needed.

You will need to inform your funeral director of the Coroner’s Office involvement so that they can request the completion of all relevant paperwork required for the release of the body and the funeral.

If the body is released with no inquest, the Coroner will send a form called Form 100B, commonly referred to as the ‘Pink form’, to the Registrar stating the cause of death. If you are planning on having a cremation the Coroner will complete a ‘Certificate of Coroner – form Cremation 6’.

Coroner’s Inquest

If the Coroner decides to hold an inquest the death cannot be registered until after the inquest, but the Coroner can give you an interim death certificate to prove the person is dead. You can use this to let organisations know of the death and apply for probate. When the inquest is over the Coroner will tell the Registrar what to put in the register.

For further information contact the Coroner’s Office:

Inner West London Coroner’s Office

33 Tachbrook Street

London SW1V 2JR

Tel: 020 7641 1212

Consent Post-Mortem

There are occasions when the clinical team involved in the care of the patient may ask for your consent to carry out a hospital post-mortem examination. This should not cause any delay to the funeral arrangements and it may assist in the treatment of other patients in the future.

You will be given every opportunity to discuss the circumstances with a clinician before making your decision or signing the necessary forms.

A report of the post-mortem will be available within four to six weeks and a copy forwarded to your GP and the hospital consultant in charge of the case. Should you wish to discuss the findings with the consultant, this can be arranged by their secretary.

Registration Of Death

Once a person has died their death should be registered within 5 calendar days. The death needs to be registered in the district in which the death occurred. If the Coroner is conducting an investigation this does not apply and the Coroner’s Office will notify you.

If the hospital can issue the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death, as soon as it is complete the ward will send it electronically to the Registrar along with contact details for the next of kin. The Registrar will then contact the next of kin to make a face-to-face appointment to complete the registration.

Deaths that occur in St George’s Hospital are registered with:

• Wandsworth Register Office

Tel: 020 8871 6120

The Registrar will need to have some information about the person who has died and it will be helpful to have the following available when you speak with them:

• Full name of the deceased and maiden name if the deceased was a woman who had married

• Date and place of birth

• Date and place of death

• Usual address

• Occupation and if applicable, the name and occupation of the deceased’s spouse or civil partner

• Whether he or she was receiving a pension or allowance from public funds

• If the deceased was married, the date of birth of the surviving widow or widower

You will be asked to pay a fee of £11 for each copy of the death certificate. The Registrar will provide you with as many copies as you require and will be able to advise you. The Registrar will also give you the Certificate for Burial or Cremation, commonly known as the ‘Green form’. Alternatively, they may send it directly to your chosen funeral director.

At the end of the registration appointment the Registrar will issue you with a unique Tell Us Once service number. Tell Us Once is a service Wandsworth Council provides in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions. This service makes it easier to inform relevant organisations of a person’s death. The Registrar will provide you with a leaflet, and additional information is available via:

• Online: www.gov.uk/tell-us-once

• Tel: 0800 085 7308

Arranging A Funeral

Planning the funeral can be an important part of saying goodbye to the person who has died. Making arrangements for a special ceremony may be a comfort to you.

It is important to choose a funeral director with whom you feel comfortable. You may wish to ask questions about their services, for example:

• What costs are involved

• Whether a viewing can be arranged at the funeral home

You may be able to make provisional plans with your chosen funeral director before registration of the death; however, final arrangements cannot be made until the death has been registered.

The Bereavement Service is not able to recommend any particular funeral director but there are several local companies detailed at the back of this booklet.

Financial Support

You may be entitled to assistance with funeral costs if you are in receipt of certain allowances or benefits. The booklet and application form for Funeral Expenses Payment is available from the Department for Work and Pensions:

• Online: www.gov.uk/funeral-payments

• Tel: 0800 731 0469

Rapid Release For Religious Reasons

If your faith requires that burial takes place within a specific timeframe we will do everything that we can to facilitate this. Please let staff on the ward know that this is needed. If the death needs to be referred to the Coroner it will not be possible to offer this service.

Monday to Friday, between 09:00 and 16:00 the release of your loved one will be supported by the ward team. There are strict protocols around release out-of-hours and we may not always be able to meet your expectations. These rules cannot be negotiated. Staff will always work within these rules and cannot work outside this legal framework.

Please note that the death must be registered before a burial can take place. At weekends and Bank Holidays the Registrar runs an on-call service between 09:00 and 11:00, via 020 8871 6000. This service is only for the issue of burial certificates for a funeral that is to take place within 24 hours.

Duty Of Candour

As part of our quality assurance processes we review inpatient deaths to ensure that treatment and care was as good as it could be. Occasionally we may find that we did not meet the high standards that we would expect. When this occurs we will contact the next of kin to let them know about the review.

Complaints Procedure

If you wish to discuss any issues or concerns relating to the overall care of the person who has died it may be helpful, in the first instance, to contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) who can be contacted via:

• Tel: 020 8725 2453

• Email: pals@stgeorges.nhs.uk

However, if you wish to make a formal complaint please write to us outlining your concerns to:

• Email: complaints.compliments@stgeorges.nhs.uk

• Post: Complaints and Improvements Department, St George’s Hospital, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT

Your letter will then be treated as a formal complaint and handled under the NHS Complaints Procedure.

Grieving

By its very nature a death is distressing and everyone deals with this in their own way. The emotional and physical reactions that follow can be intense: they can confuse, frighten, and shock. You may experience reactions that are unfamiliar and seemingly out of character. Try to talk about what has happened with someone you trust. If you feel that you want further advice then contact your GP who may refer you to a counsellor if they think that will help. Alternatively, there is a list of organisations at the end of this booklet that offer bereavement support.

Chaplaincy And Spiritual Care

The team offer spiritual and religious care to patients and visitors. You do not have to think of yourself as religious to make use of the service. Some people may value the opportunity to talk to someone about what is happening to them and how they feel about the changes they may be facing.

The multi-faith, multi-denominational team offer:

• Support for you, your relatives or friends

• Religious care in response to your individual needs

• A caring, sensitive and non-judgmental ear

• Time and space to explore your thoughts and feelings

If you would like to speak to a member of the Chaplaincy & Spiritual Care team, the ward will be happy to contact them on your behalf, or you may contact them directly on the numbers below.

• If your call is urgent, please contact the switchboard on 020 8672 1255, who will contact the appropriate chaplain for your needs. We are on call 24/7.

For non-urgent calls please use the contact information below.

• Queen Mary’s Hospital: 020 8487 6102

• St George’s multifaith: 020 8725 3071

• St George’s Catholic: 020 8725 3069

Each year a Service of Remembering is held at St George’s Hospital to remember those that have died. The service is designed for those of all faiths and none and everyone is welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact the Chaplaincy team for information about the next service.

Help From Other Groups And Organisations

• GOV.UK

Online: www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

• Age UK

Tel: 0800 678 1602

Online: www.ageuk.org.uk

• Macmillan Cancer Support

In person: Located next to Bereavement Services in St George’s Hospital

Tel: 0808 808 00 00

Online: www.macmillan.org.uk

• Cruse Bereavement Care

Tel: 0808 808 1677

Online: www.cruse.org.uk

• Samaritans

Tel: 116 123

Online: www.samaritans.org

• Sudden

Tel: 0800 2600 400

Online: www.sudden.org

• Wandsworth Bereavement Service

Tel: 020 7223 3178

Online: www.wandsworthbereavement.org.uk

• Switchboard LGBT+ helpline

Tel: 0800 0119 100

Online: www.switchboard.lgbt

• Royal British Legion

Tel: 0808 802 8080

Online: www.britishlegion.org.uk

• Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide

Email: email.support@uksobs.org

Web: www.uksobs.org

A Gift In Memory

Making a donation to The Friends of Queen Mary’s Hospital Charity is a valuable and positive way to remember a loved one. Funds can be designated to support a ward, department or area of the hospital’s work that has special significance and you will be leaving a lasting tribute.

Our Charity exists to:

• Enhance the physical environment of the hospital for patients, staff and visitors

• “Meet & Greet” service

• Patient outings, activities and entertainment

To find out more:

• Call us on 0208 487 6798/6315

• Email us at friends.qmh@stgeorges.nhs.uk

The Secretary, The Friends of Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton Lane

London, SW15 5PN

www.friendsqmh.com

Registered Charity No: 266438

Directions To Queen Mary’s Hospital

Transport

By car

The car park has two drop off and pick up points, one at the end of the bridge leading to the ground floor entrance and one just outside the lower ground floor entrance.

There is a car park on site. The Charges are paid on exit and are currently (at time of print)

• £2 over one hour

• £4 over two hours

• £6 over three hours

• £8 over four hours (maximum daily charge)

Blue badge holders may park free in any of the designated bays.

Tube, rail and tram links

Barnes station, for National Rail services, is a short ride from the hospital on bus routes 72 or 265, or is approximately 15 to 20 minutes walk away.

Hammersmith station, for District, Piccadilly and Hammersmith & City lines, is connected to Queen Mary’s Hospital by bus route 72.

Richmond station (for District line, London Overground and National Rail) and Wimbledon station (for District line, National Rail and tram services), are both linked to the hospital by bus route 493.

Reference: Queen Mary’s Hospital Bereavement Book Review Date: February 2026

Publication Date: February 2024

The Hospital would like to thank RNS Publications for publishing this information and the following pages contain some features from services o ering their help at this time.

Whilst the Hospital is grateful of their support it does not endorse or recommend any of the services that they provide.

It is distressing to deal with a bereavement and unsolicited mail can be insensitive and destructive during a grieving process.

By scanning the below QR code on your phone or visiting www.stopmail.co.uk, we are able to securely share this information with mailing organisations and under the Data Protection Act the information will not be used for any other purpose.

Other benefits reduce the possibility of identity fraud, such as assumed identity and you will only have to supply the information once.